It’s not really necessary to be honest. My understanding of the situation is that it was something Troy had kind of postulated on in the early days of this whole thing and since revised when he had more information/material, people and visuals to work with.
I think the consensus now is that it’s equally effective to just have a primary technique couple with a small secondary one for those occasions when it’s needed for string changes.
You’re describing what we call “two-way pickslanting”, or 2wps for short. Here is a slow motion example of what this looks like on more complicated patterns. The last part of the lick switches intentionally to USX technique, so this is a good real-world example of mixing and matching of different techniques, which many 2wps players do:
I discovered 2wps in 2002. It was part of the reason I set out to conduct our initial series of slow-motion interviews, i.e. so I could document more examples of it. But I did not invent the technique – I just named it and made it public.
I’m mentioning this here mainly because we have tried to be sensitive on the forum to other people’s instructional material. If you want their teaching, you can get it from them. However this subject, in general, is a core part of how picking technique works and is fair game for discussion. It’s also uniquely tied to our history at Cracking the Code.
Players have used 2wps for as long as picked instruments have been played, and there is film footage of this going back far into the last century. As far as teaching, I will take some credit for that - this is one of those Cracking the Code breakthroughs which was essentially unknown in mainstream guitar instruction until we made our first public lessons on the subject in the early 2010s. It is covered extensively in our own instructional material, like the Antigravity seminar from 2014, and in more than one YouTube lesson that has over a million views, like this one:
It’s really not too complicated, and lots of people do this without being aware of it. You may even already do it yourself. If you have never filmed yourself up close, in Magnet view, in slow motion, it’s hard to know for sure.
But more generally, yes, I can understand why you would think that. 2wps is often learned subconsciously, by feel, without any specific instruction. When you are made aware of it, and try to do it deliberately, most people do an exaggerated version of it which feels unnatural or foreign, compared to the more streamlined motions they make when learning subconsciously.
Not a knock, I get what you mean, but I wouldn’t quite go that far. We still teach it / use it. We can’t not, since it’s something that many people already do. Plenty of classic patterns already work this way, where most people when filmed will show some amount of it happening. If I try to play the Antigravity lick from above, you’re going to see bits of it, and I can’t shut that off. Our whole approach here is more descriptive than prescriptive. If a thing exists in the world, we want to know why it exists, and when it might be helpful to learn it.
I think what you’re referring to is the complexity where some players appear to do less of it, and can still play all kinds of complicated things, while others do more obvious 2wps in combination with single-escape picking motions, and still others mix and match all of the above. There is indeed a complex spectrum out there in the real world.
But from a teaching perspective, we keep it simple. We just go for results. We are all about testing and observing. We get the core motion going and then see what it can do. If a thing is working, do more of it. If it’s not, here’s something else you can try.
Correct. This was not a generalized sweeping statement, but one more in regards to hyper fixation on one particular way to achieve something, when the reality is that it there can be a lot of variance involved. That said, and more sweepingly, it’s not necessary to be a good player.
Not only is there a complex spectrum in the real world, there is also a complex spectrum of what is acceptable.
To me It is always the end result, how that was achieved is what it is.
I’m not sure if I’m missing something but as it has already been pointed out here, this basically sounds like TWPS, so at least the concept sounds pretty straight forward? Mastering it with the perfection that Anton does is a different story, sure.
Again, not to knock Mr. Oparin’s fantastic playing, but I’ve watched his videos and he uses CTC clips to demonstrate swiping. Maybe he really is just that amazing of a musical savant, but from my perspective it seems that he probably only knows about swiping because of CTC. The reason I take issue with this is because in his video he said “you can so clearly hear how sloppy MAB is hitting all these strings,” while showing CTC footage of MAB swiping yet no footage of himself personally to demonstrate that he is not subconsciously doing so himself. The reason swiping is even noteworthy to begin with is specifically because, with few exceptions, you’d never even notice it if it weren’t for the slow motion footage showing it.
There’s also the sheer “too good to be true” factor. Mr. Oparin claims to have discovered “universal guitar technique.” He hypes himself up so much that he claims you don’t even need to bother with sweep picking because you can “alternate pick everything” with his technique. Well I simply don’t buy that he can do Rusty Cooley sweeps with alternate picking, and I don’t buy that he never uses a single idiomatic “shortcut” in his playing.
As I said before, the fact that he only vaguely alludes to his technique and hides it behind a very steep paywall further gives me doubts. I can appreciate that if you have something special to sell, it’s worth charging for the exclusivity. But the guitar technique market is crowded and while Mr. Oparin is a fantastic player, he is not so head-and-shoulders towering above the rest that he demands the price and secrecy. If he was the equivalent of selling Speed Kills when The Beatles were just getting started, I’d understand. But he’s just not. Yes, he’s better than me and probably most posters here, but so are hundreds of 8 year old prodigies and thousands of YouTubers selling their own courses.
In the end, I think that what Mr. Oparin is really selling is “polarisation.” If you hardline sell yourself as fully unapologetic in anything, not just music lessons but marketing and even dating, you will lose out on mass appeal but really cement a dedicated interest from a minority. It’s a good strategy, but I am a bit sick of hearing his fans going around in comments sections and forums calling everybody else stupid and misguided.
Nice post! I have some opinions on this. Please don’t take any of this as combative. Just on-topic discourse 
The counter argument to this is that he’s aware of it and can turn it on/off at will as he shows here.
Also, he plays extremely complex string skipping patterns that would be game-over if there were (persistent) swipes.
(just watch the timestamped portion till he slows down)
I agree that without closeup highframe footage it’s impossible to rule out that he never does it. But he’s certainly doing less of it than his contemporaries. And he’s going through great lengths to avoid it. Whether the rest of need to go that far comes down to personal goals.
He never claims to be able to play the absolute fastest sweeps (i.e. Rusty Cooley) as alternate picking, and he uses sweep picking himself in plenty of his performances. He just points out that you lose control/quality of the notes when you sweep as compared to alternate picking. He wants to control which notes are palm muted, the volume etc of any note he plays, whenever humanly possible and alternate picking is going to win there. When it’s within his limits, he’ll alternate pick it. I get that not everyone cares about that, and I don’t fault anyone for taking a “shortcut” because there are only so many hours in the day. We’re talking about stuff here that most would only pick up on with extreme slow down footage, as if we’re in the musical Olympics. That’s more dedication than I’ve got, but I respect his work ethic.
When we get to the upper echelon of anything in life, it’s those final few percentage that are often the hardest. Michael Jordan wasn’t 2x the player of all his opponents. Some he probably only edged out by a similar few percentage points (if that were even measurable). Yet still, he was seemingly out of reach. He had this extra “something” that no one else could capture.
While it’s impossible to be aware of every single player out there, (like many of us) I’m pretty deep into who the monsters are. Anton plays things I’ve never seen anyone else play (in some cases, at all such as his string skipping 1nps like the one I posted above) and in other cases, as cleanly. When viewing virtuosos, we tend to focus on speed/complexity and can miss very fundamental things like attack control, synchronization, raw tone production, dynamics, and evenness of sound. Anton’s playing demonstrates extreme attention to all those things. I can’t think of many other elite level alternate pickers that I can say that about. In my opinion (which is fine if anyone else shares it or disagrees with it), he’s either better at picking than everyone else (i.e. more raw talent) OR he’s doing something differently than everyone else, therefore getting different results. I can’t accept that there are others who’s picking is at his same level. Typically people who say that aren’t aware of the difficulty of what he plays. I’ve gone deep down the rabbit whole of DBX/Mixed Escape/2Way pickslanting or whatever term we want to call “Alternate Pick anything”. Nothing I’ve attempted to play comes close to the difficulty of his classical violin transcriptions. I know of no other guitarists who could alternate pick their way through these. Well, maybe one…
With that segue, I’ve seen one player to date that I consider in the same league as him, in terms of alternate picking prowess. And what a treat for all of us, he works at CtC
Check out these beautifully filmed/played clips
https://troygrady.com/users/Joao667/video/
Even as terrifying a player as he is, he’ll tell you himself (humble/sweet guy) that he considers Anton a better player. To me that speaks volumes of just how good Anton is.
Total agreement here. It’s unfortunate. I’m obviously a huge fan of Anton’s playing (and even more so, his hard work) but I won’t call players who have dedicated their efforts to different areas “stupid or misguided”. There’s no place for talk like that. We all want the same thing, to get better at picking/playing. It would be much better if we all support each other in our goals and not pit players/teachers against each other. Except Tom Hess of course Stay away from that guy! lol!
There are dozens of players who I admire just as much as Anton (though for different reasons) and they each offer something unique we can learn from. What we do with that info…Mostly it comes down to goals, awareness, tolerance of when better technique in any given area will be worth the required work. BTW I’m also a huge fan/supporter of Troy and everything he’s done and continues to do. I’d encourage everyone to view things more objectively and not throw out any babies with bathwater.
Couldn’t agree more!
Joe, you know I love you man, and I totally understand what you are trying to convey when you say this, but dealing with subject matter that is, well, primarily subjective in nature, it is incredibly hard to divorce yourself from that aspect. Even your post above demonstrates it to an extent, as it opens with a well established, strong bias. It becomes kind of hard to look at objectively from there.
One person’s baby, may always be someone else’s bathwater.
With a metronome?! 
Is there anything else that you might have to add about that?
He is remarkable in my book because he was able to integrate lots of techniques that were not well known and produce something that just sounds great! I’ll bet that he (re)invented many of the techniques that CtC discovered, but his fusion is the true genius, IMHO.
I don´t know if this post here is 100% in line with the topic of the thread since it´s called “…using CtC”, but I thought it was worth mentioning some aspects that I have found in Anton´s videos or videos about Anton´s guitar course that I haven´t found in CtC (yet?).
One of Anton´s students has a Youtube channel where he will give the one or the other chunk about Anton´s methodology. He even has a video where he gives a review of Anton´s course.
One aspect that really stood out to me was the difference of going through the string as opposed to having the string dictate the movement of the pick, so that the pick “hops” over the string. It´s in this video from 08:15 onward to about 09:10. One important note is that what is here refered to as “hopping” is not the same as the “string hopping” we have in CtC (the usage of the same muscle for two types of escape movements).
There´s also a snippet of a lesson from Anton with a student where he talks about this.
It was a major revelation for me anyway because I noticed I actually struggle with this in certain scenarios, while in other scenarios it´s not a problem and the pick goes through the string with ease. Also I noticed about myself that I focused so much on the escape motion(s) that those problems relating to the picking on ONE string would go more or less unnoticed.
Someone above mentioned that it´s very hard if not impossible to play at Anton´s speeds with pure deviation and I happen to agree, with a mild objection at the same time. In his long video about “Universal Guitar Technique”, he goes into fatigue and relaxation and alludes to a way of playing that I guess only he can teach, where you are using antagonizing (??) muscles to illicit kind of an automatic “reverse” movement to a pick strokes.
If he is right about this whole process, that would explain how he can play those ridiculously fast and wide string skipping sections. If I attempt those kind of licks, I end up with strumming chords. 
Long story short, except for the aspect of going through a string and the relaxation, I don´t think there´s anything that CtC doesn´t offer in a different terminology.
I am at his school and all I can say is that his technique is different. I think he developed it by himself. I don’t know if it is THE best, but at least one of the best techniques I know. To play like Anton has its price. His technique is very complex and very difficult. You have to invest a lot of time and practice slowly to get all the movements right. I think with swiping you get faster great results but this has its limitations. Antons technique has no limitations. If done right, you never hit unwanted strings. His movements are not hops. He pays great attentions to hops and I finally learned what hops really are.
Anton is not only a great talent, he knows exactly what he is doing. And he is explaining everything in detail.
I decided not to learn his technique, but only because I have been playing for too long and don’t want to start from scratch again. But it still was worth it to look at his technique. I have learned a lot of things that I have integrated into my playing and I got better.
Look at his video of the second support at his Youtube Channel. Those small things changed my playing for the better.
I think it’s always good to learn from all the top guitarists and pick out the best things from each one.
I think of all the guitarists I know of, the one who has the most similar technique and pholosophy to Anton - including aphorisms and frankly a slightly culty atmosphere - is Robert Fripp, who is a ridiculously talented guitarist himself.
I am more curious than ever now about his technique.
Can anybody here play this exercise, starting at about 8:09 in the vid?
5 note pattern (1 note on the G string, 3 notes on the B string,1 note on the high E string.
Then accenting after every 4th note.
The pattern on itself, at a slower speed is, already very difficult, and then with the accents and gradualy speeding up, is just…nuts!!
No way for me…
I appreciate @Klampfer 's measured review. Thank you for sharing your experiences with us. Because the stuff is behind a paywall, from the outside it’s really easy to conclude that he’s either Jesus or a scam artist.
Sounds like his system could be more accessible if he could take where you’re at/what you can do, and help you make gradual adjustments to improve, rather than starting over.
@joebegly 's comments are also very fair. I have been nerding out about guitar shredders on the internet for a good twenty years now, and I have seen a lot, and in terms of the alternate picking skills Joe talks about, I agree I don’t believe I’ve heard much or any playing at Anton’s level. Again that’s just in terms of alternate picking skill. Even the Steve Morse stuff probably wasn’t as clean and articulate.
Now, at the same time, I find his playing unlistenable and incredibly un-musical, but that’s a separate issue!
It’s interesting to know more from people who worked with his teaching material. There is a very big difference between being able to do something and being able to understand and explain what you’re doing. And similarly there is a very big difference between understanding and being able to get someone else to successfully DO the thing.
I think he sounds great, but everyone can agree he plays superbly. I love how opinionated he is; I’m sure his system is very refined given how thoughtful he is.
The main drawback of his school is the cost (£271 / $345). However, when broken down to £22.58 / $28.75 per month, one could argue that it’s quite reasonable. In fact, if your playing reached a level anywhere near Anton’s, you might even feel like you owed him money!
I’ve come across several accounts of players from Anton’s school who were unwilling to relearn their technique, and that’s what keeps me intrigued. It makes me think this isn’t just about DBX technique but something closely related—perhaps even a technique yet to be discovered. Interestingly, I don’t recall anyone on Cracking the Code describing any of the techniques Troy has demonstrated as very complex or very difficult, nor suggesting a requirement to completely relearn the guitar. This only fuels my doubts that Anton is using a standard DBX or any technique we’ve seen before.
I’ve read numerous posts from forum members who have made rapid progress after learning about different pick escapes through Cracking the Code. Personally, my own playing improved within days after stumbling upon the website, where I first learned about pick escapes and the pitfalls of string hopping.
I keep hearing that Anton’s technique takes a very, very long time to develop. So what is the hidden wrist movement that is so hard to do that we can’t see from the teaser videos he posts?
I’m in awe of Anton’s playing—I guess I’m going to have to find out the expensive way.
I wrote up my thoughts on Anton Oparin’s technique and the Universal Guitar Technique video in “that” thread, but it seems that it has been deleted. I didn’t save a copy of what I wrote, some of what I write here might be similar.
Let me make it totally clear that I think Anton is an extraordinary player. I’ve been very impressed by his playing since videos of his playing first began to appear online when I was a teenager.
I haven’t seen Anton’s instructional materials. I’m sure that he knows what he’s doing and that those who are interested in pursuing the technique would find his instruction insightful. I think it’s possible for others to discover and develop similar approaches for themselves, but I’d expect that Anton’s instruction would accelerate the learning process significantly.
I was very focused on strict alternate picking was a teenager. I was able to develop RDT based mixed and double escape mechanics by thinking about picking geometrically. My form was very capable, I was able to play pieces by Paul Gilbert and Steve Morse cleanly and up to tempo (much of the same material that Anton started on).
I may have been swiping in some situations (I really have no way of knowing), but I’m confident that I wasn’t swiping in other situations. I remember very clearly that I was upset that I couldn’t get the Gilbert lick to “snarl” the way it does when Paul plays it. It turns out that the snarl was swiping noise, and I was upset because I wasn’t swiping (at least not audibly). I was upset because I wasn’t swiping, but I didn’t know what swiping was. At least, I didn’t know it could be done well without the performer realising.
Anton is significantly better at alternate picking than I ever was, but there are some clear similarities between our forms. My form has the same wobble that Anton calls the “wrist dance.” It has the same percussive attack and dynamic quality, and it demands that I pick directly through the string and not allow the string to deflect my picking path. I had a notebook full of diagrams and geometric derivations, including the figures of 8 that have been mentioned above (also escape angle vs. pick depth, effective radius of double-escape movements, the effects of lever length, etc).
I was never at the level of alternate picking that Anton has achieved. However, I don’t think it’s unreasonable to think that I could have achieved some of the things he is uniquely capable of, if I had shared his goals and his committment to the technique.
Personally, I was never satisfied with the technique. It is not totally compatible with my personal goals and my preferences. My goal has always been to develop my own vocabulary which manifests the players who have inspired me as clearly recognisable influences.
I like the characteristic tone and attack in some contexts, such as Paul Gilbert and Steve Morse influences lines/patterns, but I don’t enjoy it in other situations. I don’t think the tone or attack really works for Eric Johnson or Shawn Lane influenced picking licks. I don’t feel it blends well for Allan Holdsworth or Brett Garsed inspired legato lines. I feel like the dynamic is much too hard for crosspicking rhythm patterns.
Also, I think it’s important to understand that playing the guitar is a kinaesthetic experience. We play what we think sounds best of what feels available to us. Every technique informs a mechanical intuition, and becoming familiar with that intuition is a major aspect of manifesting an inspiration as an influence.
In my experience, the mixed-escape strict alternate picking style I developed didn’t provide the mechanical intuition to guide me toward my goals.
As minor nitpicks, I don’t feel that the form allows for totally seamless integration of hybrid picking, and I don’t feel that it allows for picking with the vibrato bar held loosley in hand.
Anton’s technique is clearly exceptional. I believe his criticisms of other techniques are valid, and that his technique is likely optimal when judged on the criteria he used in his Universal Technique video.
However, I believe those criteria are subjectively chosen and are based upon his personal goals and preferences. Other players may value other criteria based upon their personal goals and preferences. I don’t believe in Universal Technique, I believe there is enough variation in goals and preferences among guitar players that many would be better served with other approaches.
None of this is to diminish Anton or his technique at all. I just want to share my own personal experience with a similar mixed-escape, strict alternate picking approach. I want to encourage others to think on what their goals and preferences are, and how the techniques they pursue serve those ends.
Well, I think the difference here is that at Anton’s school, you must do everything in a very particular way - CtC plays to ones already existing strengths.
Imagine, however, that the method here was that you HAD to learn Troy’s wrist-forearm technique - playing in that style is “the best”. Some people are just going to have an extremely difficult time getting it down, it could end up being a very long pursuit and likely not worth the commitment. I think that’s more of an equivalent situation.
What do you believe to be the cause of this?
My understanding of the anatomy/physiology is that the muscles of the wrist cross the the forearm, so they have secondary function in forearm rotation and will produce incidental rotation unless the primary rotators are held in constant tension.
My belief is that in this form of RDT-based mixed escape alternate picking, the incidental rotation is particularly noticeable in the central (no escape, so NSX maybe?) orientation, and that the function of the primary rotators is to move between the no escape, upstroke escape and downstroke escape orientations. So, the primary rotators can’t be used to suppress the incidental rotation.
I never thought about any of this while learning the movement as a teenager. I just focused on making the pick follow my intended trajectories (that I worked out geometrically) by feel, and making the movement feel powerful, smooth and rhythmic.